The Fires of Passion:Matt's Tale
by PhoenixFire Lia
Summary: Matt has a reunion with an old girlfriend, but will Ken try and stop them? Special thanks to Arianna M, you know why.


The Fires of Passion

Matt's Tale

Ken sat in his secret lair, staring at the images of the four Digidestined girls. Wormmon was crouching on the floor beside him, cowering as usual. 

"Sora. Mimi. Kari. Yolei. Not one of them possesses the fire I crave. They're all worthless fools. I desire a young woman with spirit, a burning desire for love that ignites the souls of those she touches," he murmured, gripping the arms of his chair tightly.

"Master, I just heard some news from the guys in sector 127Q," Wormmon sniveled.

"Well, what is it?" the Emperor snapped, glaring at the meek digimon through his tinted glasses.

"Apparently those four aren't the only girl Digidestined. There's another one, part of the original group. But she's gotta be too old for you, Ken."

"What did I tell you about calling me anything but Master?" Ken snapped. Wormmon hung his head in embarrassment. 

"Another female, you say?" Ken punched a few keys and brought up an image, a name, and a few statistics. 

"Lia Agianna, age 15. Digimon: Wizardmon…drat, that moron is alive? Ah, no matter, if Myotismon can kill him, so can I. Crest: Faith. Current Location: Odaiba, Japan. Hmmm, looks like the perfect specimen. Wormmon, make ready for departure. We're going to pay this Lia a little visit," Ken ordered. 

__

You will feed my hunger for passion, girl. And when I have exhausted you I will throw your corpse to my prisoners and they will feed on your festering flesh, Ken thought, grinning. 

~*~

"Oh, come on Matt. Be a sport. Blind dates are fun! Besides, you don't want to live the rest of your life as a bachelor and end up a lonely old coot like Gennai, do you?" Mimi asked as the eleven Digidestined met outside the junior high.

"So my sister didn't work out. Yolei has a sister, how about her?" Davis inquired.

"I don't like my sister, what makes you think he will?" Yolei retorted. 

"What about Sora?" Kari pointed out.

"Hey, I'm not going out with Matt. I'm already committed to Tai, so bug off."

"Would you people quit trying to fix me up? I'm not going out on any dates with anyone you guys try to fix me up with, and that's final! If I'm going to fall in love with someone, I'll do it on my own time, to my own preferences, got it?" Matt snapped. 

"What about Gatomon? I bet she could use a boyfriend," Yolei asked stupidly.

"I have one, thank you," Gatomon retorted.

"Yeah, a dead one," Patamon replied smartly. 

"I give up. I'll see you guys later," Matt sighed in aggravation, stuffing his hands into his pockets and taking off. He was furious at all of them, angered that they had the gall to attempt to play matchmaker between him and a complete stranger. True, his heart ached with the desire to know what true love was, and not the kindergarten puppy love the others were so smitten with. He was determined not to be chained down by his peers and their two-dimensional perception of romance. 

~*~

A young woman stood on her balcony, breathing in the cool night air. Her amber-brown eyes sparkled with hope as she wished with all her heart to find the love she had lost. A gentle wind stirred her long, dark hair, blowing it back. A single strand hung playfully on her forehead. She plucked at the pendant hanging around her neck, her fingers nervously tracing the curves of the silver crescent. After a moment, she reached into her pockets and pulled out a small metallic object, then examined it closely.

"Nothing, like always. Oh Yamato, will I ever see you again?" she sighed. 

~*~

Matt eventually wandered home, frustrated and annoyed. He was still agitated by the other Digidestined, and needed time for his temper to cool. He walked in, saying nothing to his father and shutting himself in his room. 

"The others know nothing. They have no idea that while they make jokes and taunt me about being the lonely bachelor, she's out there somewhere, waiting still. I promised her I'd never leave her, and I broke my word. She probably hates me," Matt sighed, reminiscing. He remembered the beautiful angel that stole his heart, and then he turned around and broke hers. Playful, sweet, kind, she was everything he desired in a woman. And now she was gone, far-flung across time, space, or both, in the blink of an eye. 

"Lia, will I ever find you?" he murmured. 

~*~

"I'm closing in on her, Wormmon. The girl will not escape," Ken announced. Wormmon yawned. "Master, it's three AM and we've only been to two apartment buildings. There are at least thirty in Odaiba alone, and the computer may have made a mistake. She might not even live here anymore."

"Silence! I will find this girl, you'll see."

__

And then you will be mine, girl. Then you will be mine. 

~*~

Lia thought she was dreaming, but instantly realized she was wide-awake. Her digivice had begun to glow and chime in rapid chirps. She scrutinized the metallic device, and determined that it was another digivice it was reacting to, not a plea for help from Wizardmon, her guardian and companion. 

"Could it be? Could it really be him?" she wondered, throwing her shoes on quickly and bolting out the door. She ducked back inside briefly, to leave a short note for her parents. 

Matt noticed his digivice began to behave unusually as well, as he walked over to a nearby café for an early morning cup of coffee. He knew instantly it was not Gabumon beckoning to him, but the digivice of another human. 

"It's not a familiar signal…could it belong to her?" he questioned, following the signal.

Neither of them were paying attention to where they were headed, and crashed into each other.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you all right?" Lia gasped, quickly pocketing her digivice.

"It was my fault, I wasn't watching what I was doing," Matt admitted, jamming his own digivice into a pocket. They both looked up at the same time, and stared into each other's eyes. 

"Matt?"

"Lia?"

"Oh my God, it's you, it's really you!" she sobbed, throwing herself into his arms.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he cried, hugging her tightly. 

The old fires of passion that they once shared instantly leapt from glowing embers to a towering inferno. Lia laced her arms around Matt's neck, drawing him closer to her body. He ran his hands along her body, caressing her gently. She smiled sweetly, running her fingers through his golden hair. Matt leaned in to brush his lips against hers when without warning something cracked against his back. He winced in pain and let go of Lia momentarily, spinning on his heel. The Digimon Emperor stood, rather wearily before them, whip in one hand and digivice in the other.

"The girl belongs to me. You will refrain from coming in contact with her unless you wish to die," he snapped, tapping the whip against the palm of his hand in agitation.

"I don't belong to anyone, and Matt can come in contact with me if he wants because I love him, so there," Lia blurted angrily, clenching her fists. 

"Kindly step away from my girlfriend, Ken," Matt snapped harshly. 

"You do not know the first thing about passion, boy. You do not deserve such a rare flower as she. Go back to the weeds in your own backyard or taste my wrath," the Emperor retaliated, grabbing Lia by the wrist and dragging her away. 

"Ha! Take that!" Wormmon taunted lamely.

"Let me go! Somebody help me!" Lia screamed, struggling against Ken's grip. Matt chased after them, but got jostled in a sea of early morning commuters and lost them.

"No. I lost you once, I won't lose you again," he muttered, sprinting to the school.

~*~

Lia stared at the Emperor, hating him more and more every moment. He had strapped her down to a chair, execution style. He grinned at her maliciously. 

"You will listen to me, or I will slit your throat. Understood?" he didn't wait for an answer. "Good. That fool boy of yours is worthless, he doesn't deserve you. He's just a country hick that won't amount to anything. You were hurt by him once, he'll readily hurt you again, Lia. He left you alone. He didn't care about you and left you all alone to die."

"You're lying," Lia murmured, growing bolder.

"What?"

"Matt left me because he loved me. He left because he cared enough to save me, to save the world. He went to make things right in the world, and was willing to die in order to save us all. I will not surrender to you, Ken. I love Matt, I will remain true and faithful to him, and there is nothing you could say or do to change my mind."

Ken glared at her. "Well, my flower, it looks like you've been infested with an insect. It doesn't want to be exterminated, so now I must uproot my flower and throw it in the compost heap." He leaned in close to her, almost touching her. He held her arms in a viselike grip, bringing his lips to almost touch hers. 

"Get away from her, now," someone spat. Ken turned on his heels and glared at the figure behind him. Matt narrowed his eyes at the Emperor.

"Every ounce of flesh on this girl belongs to me and I will do with her what I please," Ken hissed, cracking his whip and striking the cheek of the young man.

"Matt!" Lia cried. 

"You've lost, Ken. You can't win this one," Matt said, smirking and wiping the blood from his face. 

"And why is that?"

"The same reason that did Puppetmon in: you have no friends. Now!" 

Garurumon and Wizardmon burst in, furious at the treachery of the Digimon Emperor. Wizardmon darted behind Ken and pinned his arms to his side. Garurumon scared off any underling lackeys that wished to try their luck at defeating the Digidestined. Matt rushed to Lia's side and freed her from her bonds. She threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. He placed his hands on her shoulder blades and kissed her, the fires of passion sweeping through their souls. Matt gently placed his hands on her waist and hoisted her onto Garurumon's back.

"I'll be right back, don't move," he whispered.

Matt walked over to where Wizardmon had restrained Ken. 

"I'm going to leave you with a few parting thoughts." Matt punched Ken with all the strength he could gather, then smiled viciously. "A rare flower like Lia should be treated with love and respect. Go back to grass seed, farmer boy."

~*~

"How did you find me?" Lia asked once they had left Ken's fortress. 

"Part of it was Garurumon…thanks, buddy."

"No problem. What are friends for?"

"Part of it was Wizardmon…I owe you so much."

"Aw, forget about it. Lia's my Digidestined; it's my duty. Just make sure you tell Kari and Gatomon I send my love."

"And the rest of it came from…"

"Howdy! Did ya find Miss Lia?" Cody and Armadillomon strolled over to where they were standing. 

"Lia, this is Cody and Armadillomon, some of the new Digidestined."

"I'm very glad to meet you," Lia said, shaking his hand. 

"Uh, you two probably want some alone time. Let us know…uh, just come find us later," Cody mumbled. 

"Now you can explain to me what kendo is," Armadillomon pointed out as they walked away. 

"So what was it like to die?" Garurumon asked as he and Wizardmon went off as well. 

"Like digivolving backwards…only I've never really digivolved so I wouldn't exactly know."

"Huh. Aw, I'll have Tentomon explain it sometime…if I can get him out of that tree."

"Alone at last," Matt murmured, wrapping his arms around Lia's shoulders.

"Promise me you won't leave again," she whispered, warm tears springing from her eyes.

"I swear it. From now until forever you and I will always be. We are one flame burning brightly, my Lia." 

"Matt…" 

Matt held Lia close to his body, embracing the warmth and strength she possessed. His sapphire eyes focused on her smile, which seemed to light the heavens themselves, and the stars in her eyes shone brighter than any light ever created by man or nature. And finally, in that one instant of sheer exhilaration, Matt understood true love. He sighed heavily, tipped Lia's head up just slightly, and kissed her tender lips. Her grip tightened around him, the two intertwined into one single form. One flame burning brightly. The fires of passion, the desires of Friendship, the love of Faith. 


End file.
